Got my DPF cleaned out

[jamieduff1981]

shoehorn said:

jamieduff1981 said:

stuff about a bit of pollution

I take it you have never witnessed a dpf regen taking place,it does not burn all the soot away rather just a bit of it,the loosened soot that hasnt burnt off ends up coming out of the tailpipe in fecking huge plumes.
Its nothing more than a colostomy bag for cars,it does not magic the problem away,
it just hides it.
But at the end you are still left with a container full of st you need to empty from time to time
Just like a colostomy bag dpf`s just keep it in one place rather than spread everywhere.

Thanks for that but I do know what it's for, how it works and how regen works. It's these extracurricular cleaning activities I'm asking about. Proper incineration is one thing. Spewing out clouds of smoke during a Terraclean should attract a hefty fine from the environmental agencies similar to what happens if you're caught venting freyon gas from a/c systems (albeit adjusted to reflect the difference in damage caused).

[Heaveho]

Busa mav said:

That's not correct .

My Volvo covers about 18 k a year , mostly fast motorway miles, and the DPF needs replacing.

But does it get really driven hard? I mean, do you redline it through the gears, etc, driving it 18k miles a year means nowt if it is just driven up through the gears normally, then sits at 80-90, revving it out is the key...........I have a Ford Connect that gets regularly thrashed in this manner, I very much doubt I'll ever have the problems the op has encountered. Modern diesels need a proper regular caning to stay fit. Decent fuel and regular oil changes are part of the regime for me.

This approach has a somewhat detrimental effect on fuel economy, however!

[MG CHRIS]

A dpf is not a magical think that stops all the nasty gases going into the enviorment, its main design is to stop the particles being released in towns and cities and when on a run ie motorways it the burns all the crap back out of the exhaust. Some of it is recirculated inside the engine.

Its the single biggest waste of equipment/time/expense that has been placed on diesel vehciles.

In my opinion the run out with terreaclean being burnet off is not the additive its just the usual product produced during a forced regen and 9 times out of 10 there is no need to drive a vehicle while carrying out a forced regen, the diagnostic equipment used will run the car to carry out the test. You can leave it if you really wanted to and carry on with something else while the computer does its job.

[shoehorn]

jamieduff1981 said:

Thanks for that but I do know what it's for, how it works and how regen works. It's these extracurricular cleaning activities I'm asking about. Proper incineration is one thing. Spewing out clouds of smoke during a Terraclean should attract a hefty fine from the environmental agencies similar to what happens if you're caught venting freyon gas from a/c systems (albeit adjusted to reflect the difference in damage caused).

I agree with what you are saying but That`s the whole point,a little bit of fumes from some cleaning solution once in a while is hardly important considering the amount of even more toxic st that it causes to be ejected with it,I don`t care what any manufacturer states about it being cleaner,it simply isnt.

Over the lifetime of the car you are still burning fuel and producing waste the same as any other comparable engine.
the DPF just collects and hides it leaving,conveniently for the manufacturer an artificial figure for the buyer,of the engines actual emissions out put.
Because people wrongly assume that when they see a clean smoke free clean exhaust that the engine is totally efficient,blissfully un-aware of the financial time bomb ticking away collecting it all up for them,it cant dispose of it,or magic it away,its gone in it has to come out at some stage,fining people for a little cleaning fumes in that situation is hypocritical and serves no environmental advantage.
plus all these chemicals are legal to purchase and use.

Even if you removed a fully blocked one and replaced it rather than clean it by what ever method the old one will invariably end up in the grabber at a scrap yard,being dropped,squashed and smashed
before being emptied of whats left of the monolith,with more regard for the ten bobs worth of scrap the casing will yield than the toxic content.

[Megaflow]

It creases me up then anybody believes a £8 bottle of magic potion will clean a DPF.

What do they think is in it, that will survive being pressurised to ~2000bar, vapourises by the injectors, combusted at ~650 deg C *and* still have anything useful left in it to clean the DPF...

[ChocolateFrog]

Megaflow said:

It creases me up then anybody believes a £8 bottle of magic potion will clean a DPF.

What do they think is in it, that will survive being pressurised to ~2000bar, vapourises by the injectors, combusted at ~650 deg C *and* still have anything useful left in it to clean the DPF...

I thought it went in through a lambda sensor.

[Busa mav]

Heaveho said:

Busa mav said:

That's not correct .

My Volvo covers about 18 k a year , mostly fast motorway miles, and the DPF needs replacing.

But does it get really driven hard? I mean, do you redline it through the gears, etc, driving it 18k miles a year means nowt if it is just driven up through the gears normally, then sits at 80-90, revving it out is the key...........

Yes It only sits at 80 / 90 if there is traffic

The dpf is now considered a service item on some of the later volvos ! Replace at circa 75k .

[thatdude]

If I had a car sitting on 120,000 miles and it needed £1500 worth of work to let it carry on for another 120,000, I'd take that hit. It's cheaper than buying a new car.

Of course, at 120,000 lots of other things may also need doing. But if everyhting is sound then no reason to try and dodge the real issue.

One of the problems with these sorts of things is the adherance of the carbon material to the metal surface, which can be very difficult to break. Carbon build-up will only burn off at the surface, but not before going through many oxidation pathways before finally freeing up.

Diesels are a great idea in theory, because diesel fuel is easier to generate (can be made from lots of differant sources) meaing the diesel engine can be put in most places in the world. I should think there are potential fuels that could be formulated that give a great reduction in soot over what is commonly available now.

[Schermerhorn]

I work in the trade. I am friends with the man that provides the Terraclean service. Many taxi drivers use his services to have the Terrarclean done on their cars. They all seem happy to recommend him to their colleagues.

Proof of the pudding and all that.

[delboy735]

shoehorn said:

delboy735 said:

I'm going to sound really stupid now.....and not for the first time, how do you know if your car actually has DPF. I know mine has an EGR valve, that is becoming blocked up again, but don't know about a DPF. How do I find out ?

Take a look at your engine code BKD is non dpf,BMM is dpf.

Aha. Engine code is BKD, so no DPF.
Does that mean that i could blank off my EGR valve and map it out, given that I don't have a DPF and my emmissions won't be affected ??

[herewego]

Mr Whippy said:

But they're not driven how they are meant to be.

In any case I'm struggling to see if there is a net environmental gain by having DPF.

If the gain is marginal overall, not better to spend that cash on things that then have a better overall environmental impact?

Dave

According to the AA they give an 80% reduction in particle emissions. This seems quite significant.

[shoehorn]

delboy735 said:

Aha. Engine code is BKD, so no DPF.
Does that mean that i could blank off my EGR valve and map it out, given that I don't have a DPF and my emmissions won't be affected ??

EGR valve and dpf operate independently of each other so it should make no difference.

For future reference the best way to check is to actually get under the car and look,
They are generally found on modern stuff,near to the manifold/engine or as part of the down pipe.
Usually they will have one or a number of small sensors screwed in for temperature etc.,what you would know as a lambda sensor(oxygen or air/fuel sensor)or two and a couple of small bore pipes coming from them,or any combination of the above.

[herewego]

shoehorn said:

delboy735 said:

Aha. Engine code is BKD, so no DPF.
Does that mean that i could blank off my EGR valve and map it out, given that I don't have a DPF and my emmissions won't be affected ??

EGR valve and dpf operate independently of each other so it should make no difference.

For future reference the best way to check is to actually get under the car and look,
They are generally found on modern stuff,near to the manifold/engine or as part of the down pipe.
Usually they will have one or a number of small sensors screwed in for temperature etc.,what you would know as a lambda sensor(oxygen or air/fuel sensor)or two and a couple of small bore pipes coming from them,or any combination of the above.

If you blanked off the EGR valve you'd be increasing the NOx emissions wouldn't you?

[Otispunkmeyer]

Of you can talk the dpf off while still in its cannister/section of exhaust you can basically blow the soot out with a high pressure reverse air pulse. If you can actually see the dpf channels you can use a compressed air line with small lance to do each channel.

[Dog Star]

Monty Python said:

I've just read some of the Q&As, the best being:

Q. Is TerraClean any better than the pour-in I have been using for years ?

A. Yes. TerraClean is unique in the system of cleaning. It is not just about the chemistry, it uses patented technology. TerraClean cleans from Injectors through the combustion process and cleans post combustion too. Thus cleaning EGR & Diesel Particulate Filters.

..as if being patented makes is somehow superior.

As soon as you read utter, total bolleaux like that you know 100% for sure that the product being peddled is total, utter hokum.

Always written in the same manner as this (which was also being marketed in the UK with the exact advert blurb) which is totally priceless.



(from here http://milk.com/wall-o-shame/dish.html)

Edited by Dog Star on Saturday 9th August 18:33

[Mr Whippy]

herewego said:

Mr Whippy said:

But they're not driven how they are meant to be.

In any case I'm struggling to see if there is a net environmental gain by having DPF.

If the gain is marginal overall, not better to spend that cash on things that then have a better overall environmental impact?

Dave

According to the AA they give an 80% reduction in particle emissions. This seems quite significant.

I don't doubt they do, but that can't be a net figure?

How many cars are de-dpf, or dpf blocked, or dpf causing more inefficiency when it's not at optimum for many peoples driving cycles, etc...

Then throw in people using brick cleaner on them, pumping them clean with fresh water, manufacture and disposal, cars ending up scrapped because they are uneconomical to repair.

It does make you wonder how good they are after all.

No doubt if they worked forever then great, but they clearly don't. They are built down to a price and appear to be designed to last 3 years. Beyond that screw the environment seems to be the manufacturers mindset. They made a 'clean' car, but is it really clean any more?


Hmmm

[BlueMR2]

herewego said:

Mr Whippy said:

But they're not driven how they are meant to be.

In any case I'm struggling to see if there is a net environmental gain by having DPF.

If the gain is marginal overall, not better to spend that cash on things that then have a better overall environmental impact?

Dave

According to the AA they give an 80% reduction in particle emissions. This seems quite significant.

80% reduction, till it spews that 80% back out in a few miles, diesels are going to get expensive to run soon if you need to go into a populated area anywhere. They are going to become the new motoring cash cow as they should be.

[herewego]

Mr Whippy said:

herewego said:

Mr Whippy said:

But they're not driven how they are meant to be.

In any case I'm struggling to see if there is a net environmental gain by having DPF.

If the gain is marginal overall, not better to spend that cash on things that then have a better overall environmental impact?

Dave

According to the AA they give an 80% reduction in particle emissions. This seems quite significant.

I don't doubt they do, but that can't be a net figure?

How many cars are de-dpf, or dpf blocked, or dpf causing more inefficiency when it's not at optimum for many peoples driving cycles, etc...

Then throw in people using brick cleaner on them, pumping them clean with fresh water, manufacture and disposal, cars ending up scrapped because they are uneconomical to repair.

It does make you wonder how good they are after all.

No doubt if they worked forever then great, but they clearly don't. They are built down to a price and appear to be designed to last 3 years. Beyond that screw the environment seems to be the manufacturers mindset. They made a 'clean' car, but is it really clean any more?


Hmmm

People who have had the DPF removed will be in trouble come MOT time. Presumably the issue is simply cost.
According to Honest John:
DPFs of HGVs are regularly cleaned by the Ceramex process that restores their functionality to more than 90%, and this service is now being offered to car owners via Unipart and Alliance Car Centres and is on trial at six branches of KwikFit.

[MG CHRIS]

Just wait till euro 5 with noX boxes and the like in the exhaust system come in. You think £1500 for a new dpf will be expensive try double the price for an entire exhaust system. Its mental and I for one will not be being so blind to the fact and keep with my 90s mx5 fk all to go wrong, simple engineering and something you can actually work on.

[sherbertdip]

MG CHRIS said:

Just wait till euro 5 with noX boxes and the like in the exhaust system come in. You think £1500 for a new dpf will be expensive try double the price for an entire exhaust system.

Eh? can you or somebody else explain what an x box is in the exhaust, why they won't be allowed and why it will cost £3k for an exhaust?